To You I Belong
by Ritchie Waterfighter
Summary: Chap 3 up! What happens when a certain Himalayan Spotted cat makes a wish on a bright star one beautiful night? This fic has a "different" kind of pairing.
1. Where's Karupin?

Hey people, this is a fic that my friend, ZHY had dared me to do. I find it kinda funny considering she just dared me to do it yesterday XD. This is going to be a sorta unusual pairing so don't kill me, okay? ^_^. Anyway, here's the fic.

**~*~*~  
Disclaimer: ;**_; I dun own it, dun rub it in.

~*~*~

**To You I Belong  
**_By: Ritchie Waterfighter_

**_Chapter One: Where's Karupin?_**  
It was a nice quiet night around the Echizen household, though it must be because Ryoma's baka oyaji was finally asleep and stopped bugging everyone. Karupin stretched out of his position from Ryoma's bed and trotted down the stairs and out of the backyard. Yawning, he stretched out his back before he got into a comfortable sitting position. __

Curious blue eyes peered into the dark velvet sky with variously scattered sequins of stars and a dazzling moon hung as a backdrop. Karupin tilted his head to the side as he saw one particular star, glowing brighter than the other ones. 

"Mreeow?" he inquired curiously to no one in particular. He then padded down, before curling himself into a ball, purring a few times before closing his eyes. A few seconds later, Nanako check the backyard to check on the noise she heard earlier. She looked around to see what was the source of the sound, only to see a small bundle curled up on the floor. 

"Ara? Karupin, is that you?"  She asked, receiving a light purr in response. Nanako smiled. It was a nice night out, so she decided to let Karupin be, after she placed a small blanket around the little cat. As Nanako left, the bright star that Karupin was looking at was glowing brighter than before. 

~*~

"Itakkimasu!" Mrs. Echizen said, as she was about to leave the house. "Ittarashai, obaa-sama." Nanako replied as she started serving Ryoma and Nanjiroh their breakfast. Nanjiroh was reading his newspaper-covered magazine again, causing Nanako to once again grab it from him. Nanjiroh grumbled and walked off, saying something about ringing the temple bell. 

"Ne, Nanako. Have you seen Karupin? He went to sleep in my room last night, but he wasn't there when I woke up." Ryoma asked biting on the yakisoba that was served to him. Nanako smiled as she remembered how serene Karupin looked as he was sleeping under the moonlight.  "Yes I did. He was-"

"ACK!!"

Nanjiroh's voice cut through their conversation, even though he was outside. Looking at each other, the two cousins ran out to check on Nanjiroh.

"What's wrong with you now, Oyaji?" Ryoma asked arms crossed as he looked at his father.

"N-n-Nanako-chan, you didn't let anyone in at night, by any chance, did you?" The former tennis pro asked, his voice having an unusual shaky tone. Nanako looked at him, confused at what he's talking about. Deciding to check it for herself, she gasped as she saw a sleeping boy, curled up into a ball and covered with a small blanket.

"Nani? What's wrong?" Ryoma asked, finally peeking out the door. He then made a face as he saw the boy sleeping on the floor. "Ne, Oyaji, who's that?"

"If I knew, do you think I would've screamed?" Nanjiroh yelled, causing the sleeping boy to stir. The unknown boy's eyes slowly blinked open the same time he was sitting up. Curious azure eyes looked at the three people sleepily until something in Nanako's mind seemingly clicked.

"Ne, Ryoma-san. Do you mind if you lend him some of your clothes for now? After getting him dressed, then we'll ask him questions." Nanako asked, going beside the boy and covering him with a towel. Ryoma shrugged, considering he's only going to be lending the boy something to wear.  Nanjiroh, on the other hand, disappeared before Nanako asked Ryoma for some clothes. Most likely, the monk didn't really want to be around the half naked boy.

After getting the clothing from Ryoma and gotten dressed, Nanako sat the unknown boy on the table across from her and Ryoma. The boy's eyes looked at them inquisitively, before looking down to his hands with fascination. Nanako studied the boy's features carefully before finally asking, "Karupin?"

The boy's ears perked up and smiled towards Nanako with a cat like smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing the came out of his mouth was, "Mreeow!"

Ryoma blinked, looking at both Nanako and 'Karupin'. "I had a feeling it might have been you, Karupin." Nanako smiled, standing up, getting something too eat for the other boy.

"Ne, are you sure this is Karupin?" Ryoma asked, still somehow doubtful. "I mean, how are you sure?"

"Well, I wasn't too sure in the beginning, but then I remembered that he was sleeping in the backyard last night. I was the one that placed the blanket on him." Nanako replied, placing a plate of cooked fish in front of Karupin. Blue eyes shone with delight before he attacked the fish with earnest. Ryoma watched with a critical eye. _'He has Karupin's collar and eating habits as well… I guess to be sure, I better grab the cat toys I have of him. If he _is_ Karupin, he should know which one is his favorite.'_ Then, Ryoma stood up from his seat and headed towards his room.

"Ryoma-san, where are you going?"

"I'm just going to grab some things." Though Ryoma's answer was pretty vague, Nanako didn't ask what it was.

Karupin let out a very satisfied purr before eyeing carefully the tissues on the table. Considering he usually licks his paws clean, as a human, he tried to imitate what his owners do. Nanako giggled at Karupin's attempts and after the fifth ripped table napkin, Nanako reached over and wiped his face for him. She then lightly scratched the back of the boy's ear, just to see if he would give the same reaction as to when he was a cat, and she was right.

Light footsteps interrupted the two as Ryoma emerged from the door. "Here." He said, placing three cat toys into the table. Karupin's eyes once again shone with happiness as he saw the toys lay in front of him.

"Ne, look at these three toys. Which one is Karupin's Favorite?"

Without as second thought, Karupin swiped the green cat toy with the yellow fuzzy head. He then held on to the cat toy like a little kid would hold on to their most precious teddy bear.

"AH!" Nanako said suddenly, standing up from her seat. "Gomen, Ryoma-san, Karupin. I have a meeting today, so I must leave the both of you."

"Oi! Matte!" Ryoma protested, "I'm getting picked up by Momo-senpai in a bit and we're going to the street courts."

"Take Karupin with you." Nanako said, rushing to grab her bag. "I don't want him getting influenced by ojii-san. It's bad enough that he's around, as a cat, ojii-san while reading his magazines. I don't want Karupin corrupted as a boy."

"Wait, what am I suppose to tell them?"

"Tell everyone that he's your cousin or something." Nanako said, pointing to Karupin who was slightly leaning towards Ryoma due to drowsiness. Ryoma then thought about it. Karupin _has been around his baka oyaji and he didn't want his 'cat' to be corrupted…well, he was hoping that Karupin wasn't as corrupted as his father yet, if he was._

"Karupin, stay here for a second." Ryoma said, placing the sleeping boy's head on the table. Ryoma walked up to his room and grabbed his tennis rackets and his hat. Looking back, he shrugged and grabbed a black hat for Karupin before closing the door to his room. Karupin was still napping when Ryoma entered the kitchen. Sighing, he then shook the other boy awake. Karupin stirred, but didn't really budge at all. Ryoma sighed as he continued to shake the light haired boy. This might take a while…

~Tsuzuku~

Wah… what did you people think? This is an… er... different type of pairing ^^;;; If you can't really tell, this is an eventual Karupin/Ryoma fic. *Dodges things that might have been thrown at her* ehehe… I was just struck by something, don't kill me ^^;;;. Well, I'm not too sure on how many chapters this will be yet, but yeah. I hope you enjoyed and tell me what you think… just hoping you won't flame me for this -.-U.

Ritchie Waterfighter


	2. On the Street Courts

Thanks for the reviews, minna! ^_^ Just reading the reviews made my day… which I think scared a lot of ppl O.o;;;; To be truthful… I have no idea just yet of this will be a Karupin-seme or Ryoma-seme fic, but if am basing it on the reviews… it might be a Karupin-seme fic ^^;;;;. Oh, and before you read, Carmela, *pulls down eyelid and blows raspberry* U can blame your cousin for it :P it's not my fault I got the idea from what she said :P. Anyway, sorry for the delay, here's chapter 2, everyone. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: Look at chapter 1  
~*~**

_Chapter 2: On the Street Courts ___

"Oi, Echizen!" Momoshiro's voice boomed from the gates of the Echizen household. "Come on, we won't get any courts if you take too long."

"Come on, Karupin. We're going." Ryoma called.

"Mrryoma?" A quiet voice asked, making Ryoma look back. "Uh, Karupin, did you just say my name?"

"Ryo…ma…Ka…ru…pin." Karupin said slowly, trying his best to pronounce the words properly. Ryoma stared at his former pet and thought, _'So I guess he can talk… well, sort of.' _"Let's go, Karupin."

"Hai!" Karupin replied placing the baseball cap that Ryoma had given him. The two boys walked out of the house and greeted the loud senpai.

"Finally, you came out. Eh? Who's the kid?" Momoshiro asked as he saw the boy beside Echizen. Ryoma froze. He didn't even think about what he was going to say to his senpai. He was about to say something, but was cut off by…

"Karupin."

"Ah, charming name for a kid. So is he coming with us?" Momo asked, Ryoma then replied by walking ahead.

"Yes he is. Come on, Momo-senpai. You said so yourself, we won't be able to get a court for ourselves if we're late."

The three boys kept walking. Well, Momoshiro riding his bike and both Ryoma and Karupin were walking behind him. Karupin looked at the high ledges and was very tempted to jump up. Just as he was about to take his leap, he felt a firm tug on his collar. He looked back, tilted his head inquiringly towards Ryoma.

"Karupin, you're not a cat right now." Ryoma whispered, so that only the two of them can hear it. "I don't want you jumping up ledges, okay? Also, promise me that you won't run off while I'm playing with my senpai's okay?"

"Hai." Karupin murmured, his shoulders drooping and his posture slumped. Ryoma noticed this and sighed in defeat.

"Hey, don't feel bad. I just don't want you getting hurt, alright?" Ryoma said with a light smile, taking off the other boy's hat and playfully ruffling his hair. "Now come on. Let's go before Momo-senpai wonders why we're stalling."

"Hai!" Karupin replied, his steps were practically skipping all the way to the street tennis courts.

~*~  
"Nanjaro hoi hoi!" Eiji Kikumaru said as he did a passing cross-shot between the two opponents they had on the courts.

"Game and match, Kikumaru-Oishi pair. 6-1."

"As expected from Seigaku's Golden Pair." One of their opponents commented. "I knew they were strong. Man, we've been flattened after that one game."

"Yeah," his partner commented as they were walking away from the courts. "They probably gave us the first game so that we can save face."

His partner shook his head. "No, your Bullet Serve was great! Too bad they were able to read and react to it after the first game."

On the sidelines Oishi was passing Eiji his towel and Eiji passed him his water bottle. The three boys that were walking came up to them and greeted the Golden Pair.

"Eiji-senpai, Oishi-senpai! Sorry we're late!" Momoshiro greeted. "Echizen was being his usual slow self today and he also brought a guest."

"Hoi? Ochibi brought a guest? You're actually being social in things beside tennis?" Eiji asked as he draped his towel over his racket bag.

"Eiji! Watch what you say!" Oishi scolded. "Suma, Echizen." Oishi then turned to face Karupin to profusely apologize for his partner's brusqueness. Karupin blinked in confusion, but nonetheless accepted the apology. He then placed a finger on his cheek in thought and then tilted his head. _'I wonder why that guy was apologizing… he didn't do or say anything wrong.'_

"Yosh! One set match between Ochibi and Momo!" Eiji declared as the two players entered their sides of the courts.

"Which?"

"Smooth." Ryoma replied as Momoshiro started to spin his racket. Within a few seconds, the racket landed on the floor showing "rough".

"I'll take that court and you'll serve first, alright?" Momoshiro said, walking around the net to get to the other court. Ryoma just shrugged his shoulder and walked towards the other court.

"Here I go." Ryoma announced, throwing the ball up in the air in preparation for his Twist Serve. Karupin watched the upcoming match with earnest, excited to see his 'owner' play. Though he had seen Ryoma play before, it was a different feeling watching right now because Ryoma is playing with another opponent and not his oyaji.

"Kshhhh!"

Karupin's cat ears popped up as he heard a familiar sound. He turned his head left and right to look at where it came from. Standing up, he started walking towards the place where he *thinks* he heard the sound came from. Subconsciously, he let go of the cat toy and started to walk away in hopes to find the boy that played with him before.

~*~  
"Game and match, Momoshiro. 6-2." 

"Hora, hora Echizen. You don't seem like your playing like your usual self." Momoshiro commented." You weren't fighting back. That doesn't seem like you. Not like you at all."

"I know, I know something seems to be wrong, Momo-senpai." Ryoma grumbled irritably, "I just can't seem to fig-"

Ryoma's jaw dropped as he saw the bench that Karupin was sitting on was empty. The green cat toy with a fuzzy yellow head sat peacefully by itself on the bench, opposite to what Ryoma was feeling right now. 

"Momo-senpai, I'll be right back." Ryoma said, tossing his racket beside his bag and ran off in some random direction.

"Nya? Where's Ochibi-chan going, Momo?" Eiji asked after taking a long sip from his water bottle. "Unya~ where's the other Ochibi?"

Momoshiro looked up from his spot and looked around. "Hmm… I wonder where that other kid went…?"

~*~  
"Karupin! Karupin!" Ryoma called out. "Man, where can that guy be." 

Ryoma walked -more like ran- around the tennis courts looking for his former cat. He passed by the vending machines and then contemplated if he wanted to buy his usual juice 'Ponta', or skip the drink and look for his 'guest'. Considering that this was the first time Ryoma had lost Karupin as a human, he decided to skip the drink and continue on looking.

Unbeknownst to him, behind the vending machines and a couple of trees, a young boy with dual colored hair was lying down on the grass, hidden from Ryoma's view. There was Karupin, lying down in the grass, sleeping quietly underneath a tree.

~tsuzuku~

AAH! I just remembered something! I'm asking a favor for anyone who's interested. Considering am not really good at drawing, can anyone please draw human Karupin for me? Onegaishimasu?!?! *runs around while pulling her hair* whew... I think am okay now… Karupin's hair color is the same as his fur color, kk? Well, hope u liked this chapter. Sorry for making Ryoma lose, but hey, something _was wrong, so he had a reason. Too bad I didn't really put a lot of Karupin/Ryoma interaction, oh well, there's always next chapter. Ja matta ne!_

Ritchie Waterfighter


	3. Enter Fudomine

Konnichiwa minna-san! Gomen for the unreasonably short chapter, I found that annoying, and I'm the one that's writing this ^^;;;. Thanks to the people that reviewed so far. This is for both Chapter one and two.

**Hirame:** Ah, the oddness of my imagination ^_^. I'm glad u like the story so far. I'm not sur if you got my email, but you could've done the drawing, if you wanted to. I was the one that asked the readers if they wanted to draw. I was the one that would need permission from people if they actually do draw the picture, ehehe ^^;;;;.

**xxkurenaixx: **Uke Ryoma? I'm still working on that.****

**nagibook:** heeheehee!! Looks like am not the only one that was imagining that ^_^.

**A-chan:** ehehe *scratches the back of her head* thanks that you think that way *turns red*. I did as much as I can in this chapter so it's a longer than the other two put together ^_^. Gomen for the mistakes, I fixed it… I think O.o;;;;

**Z.Y.H.:** O.o;;; dude, ur odd, I practically tell u what going on in the story. Ah well, read on, I made a few changes from what I told you anyway.

**Leina:** Hey Lyn! Hey, it's not my fault I freak out on the first story I submit on a new section. I would've thought u'd know that by now O.o;;;. This chapter, I aimed for 2000, happy? ^^

**Carmela:** … that's it, no more Pocky for you, young lady. Am I getting u obsessed with Karupin? O.o;;;

**Kori:** Thank you so much for the drawing. I don't know if you were able to get my email, but thanks for doing a drawing of Karupin. *glomps you very happily* Though I don't see how u messed up the legs O.o;;;;

**Hikaruchi:** thanks that you find this story interesting. I'm working on this story pretty well, so hopefully I'll be able to pull this off pretty well.

**Destroyer Angel: **Ofcourse I'm going to continue this fic, I love it too much to not finish it :3 and besides, I dun think my weird imagination (or in ur words imagination and talent) is going to let me going to let me down on this fic just yet. Where'd Karupin run off to, u say? He's around, don't worry. Now I'm actually wanting a cat to glomp.****

**Noor:** Heehee, thanks. More is coming soon.

**Mei Neko:** Well, I thought this _would _work out better if Karupin was human, ne? ^^;

**nall: **is it that weird? *panics for a second* oh a good weird ^^;;;. If it was a bad kind of weird, I was going to say "Blame it on Carmela" ^^;****

**Baki-chan:** I'm not too sure if Ryoma will be the uke, but am working on it. FWEE!!! This pairing is cute, isn't it? *goes to fangirl heaven XD*

**nanaka: **ehehe… I know it's weird, but so far everyone likes the pairing, rite? ^^;;;

*Looks at list again* I think I got everyone. OH, and Kori already sent me her drawing of Karupin. I bugged Carmela to put it up so here's the link to it if you want to see: www. angelfire. com/ anime2/ bubblegal89/ art/ HumanKarupin. txt er… just delete the spaces ^^;;;

Thanks again, Kori ^_^. Oh, I've stalled you people long enough. _Standard disclaimers are applied, all I'm getting are the reviews from the readers so yeah :S._  Pardon any mistakes or anything, I'll fix that as soon as I can ^^;;; Enjoy chapter three ^_^

**~*~**

**_Chapter 3: Enter Fudomine_**

Momoshiro watched quietly as he saw Echizen running around looking for his guest.

"Ano yaro…" He said to himself quietly. He then closed his eyes as he crossed his arms in thought. "So concerned about his guest. Now, where did I see him this worried before?"

"Oi, Momo! What are you muttering to yourself?" Eiji asked as he noticed the usually loud second year was unusually quiet. "Silence and you doesn't seem to fit at all."

Momoshiro then looked up from his thoughts and then blinked. "What?"

"You were murmuring to yourself." Eiji commented. "You're reminding me of the guy from Fudomine that always mumbles. Ne, Oishi, what's that guy's name again?"

Oishi looked thoughtful for a second as he was recalling the name. "Shinji, I think. Ibu Shinji. Here's your drink, Eiji."

Eiji smiled gleefully before taking the drink from his partner's hand. "Sankyuu, Oishi! You're the best!" He then glomped the other boy for all he's worth. The Vice Captain of Seigaku's boy's tennis team felt heat rising up to his cheeks as his partner was holding him like that.

"Doitashimashite, Eiji." Oishi smiled tenderly, the blush still gracing his features as he patted the acrobatic player's head affectionately.

Momoshiro, who slightly went back to his train of thought, looked at his two senpais. Besides the one that he was thinking of right now, another thought came to his mind. Ever since the Golden Pair came back from their loss with St. Rudolph during the Prefectural Tournament, the two seemed…closer. Even in the match with Hyotei, Eiji wasn't playing his best until he remembered how Oishi guides him. Momo then remembered how Eiji-senpai willingly did most of the attacking during the match with Jousei Shounan just so Oishi-senpai could rest his broken wrist. Is there something-

"Karupin!" Ryoma yelled, cleanly cutting through Momoshiro's thoughts. "Karupin!"

Momo, once again, looked up to see Echizen still running around.

"I know I've seen him this worried before. Only question is, when was it?" Momo asked himself as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Hey Momo, can you be our referee for now?" Oishi asked the second year. "Since Echizen is not here, we can't really play doubles. It's Eiji's serve."

"Alright then, a one set match. Kikumaru-senpai versus Oishi-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai to serve."

~*~

Ryoma sighed, leaning against the vending machines with a can of Ponta in his hand. Last time he lost Karupin, Momoshiro and his senpai-tachi bought him back to Ryoma.

"Okay, that's at least twice I ran around the street courts and I still can't find him." Ryoma said to himself as he popped the tab of the can and started drinking. I doubt he got very far and for all I know, he could be sleeping around here somewhere."

"Ah, Echizen-kun!"

Ryoma paused in mid-drink to look at who called out his name. A girl with red-brown hair placed back in clips waved to his direction as she was approaching. Ryoma looked at the girl and her two companions. '_Tachibana's imouto, the hot-head rhythm guy and-'_

The dark-haired boy from Fudomine stood in front of him.

"Yo."

"Domo."

A gust of wind swirled around the two tennis players along with three or four random leaves blowing with the wind.

"Ne, Echizen-kun," Ann asked as she broke though the two boys' trance. "What are you doing here?"

"You mean besides the obvious? I'm looking for my ca-" Ryoma froze. He can't say that he's looking for his cat, especially since his cat isn't a cat anymore. "My friend. I was just looking for my friend."

The three members of Fudomine looked at him rather oddly but then shrugged it off. Then, upon hearing footsteps coming from a distance, the four looked towards the direction of the sound.

"Yo, Mamushi." Kamio called, as the figure got closer.

"Fshh!! Urusai, you rizumu yaro." Kaidoh hissed, as he got closer. The two boys got into a glaring contest as Ann continued to inquire about Echizen.

"Oh, so who are you looking for?" Ann asked Ryoma as he finished off his drink. The freshman creased his brows in thought before replying.

"A close friend. My family knows him fairly well. He was wearing a white shirt with red sleeves and black shorts. Come to think of it, it was the shirt that I wore before I became a regular and I was also wearing it when you brought Momo-senpai and myself here to play tennis."

"Same shirt before getting the Seigaku jersey?" Ann asked, making Ryoma nod. Kaidoh froze as he overheard the two. His glaring match with Kamio ended when Shinji was talking to himself again and Kamio decided to snap him out of it. Kaidoh's eyebrow twitched as he remembered the little scene that happened a few minutes ago.

~Flashback~

Kaidoh is doing his usual jogging before he joins the other Seigaku Regulars in the street tennis courts. Considering that he'll end up there anyway, Kaidoh decided to run around the streets courts instead of his usual route before he joins the others.

"Kshhh!" He hissed to nobody in particular as he continued to jog. Within a few seconds, he heard footsteps following him. Slowly stopping, he then looked back on who was following him. A young boy, probably a year or two younger than him was following him.

"What do you want?" Kaidoh asked as the boy that was following him stood in front of him.

"Ano…"

Kaidoh blinked as he heard the tone of the kid's voice. It sounded…very familiar, but where and when did he hear it before? Kaidoh's eyes bulged before roughly shaking his head.

_'Masaka… This kid can't be the cat that was at school, can he?'_

"Karupin!" Ryoma's voice was somewhat faint, but that didn't stop the two boys from being able to hear it.

"Ryoma…" Karupin said as he looked back to he was just walking from. Kaidoh stared as he remembered how the voice, and even the clothes, was so familiar. 

"Hey, do you need help in -eh?"

Kaidoh paused as the younger kid leaned his head on his shoulder for support. Kaidoh heard the even breathing of the kid a few seconds later before he was able to confirm that the kid had fallen asleep.

_'This kid is just like that player from Hyotei.'_ Kaidoh thought to himself as he hoisted the boy to the hill. _'I don't want to leave anyone alone like this right now, but after I finish my run I'll bring you to Echizen.'_

With his mind made up, Kaidoh straightened up and got ready to finish up his routine jog.

~End Flashback~

"Oi, Echizen." Kaidoh said, interrupting Ryoma's conversation with Ann.

"Nani ga, Kaidoh-senpai?" Ryoma asked and then noticed the light tinge on his senpai's face.

"The kid you're looking for, he's under the tree behind the vending machines." Kaidoh said as he looked away and started jogging towards where his senpais are. Ryoma blinked but then shrugged it off. If Kaidoh-senpai were right, he'd just thank him later when he goes back to where his other senpai-tachi is.

"Echizen-kun, we'll see you later." Ann said, pointing to Kamio and Shinji. "Kamio-kun seems to be more edgy than usual."

"What _are_ you talking about, Ann-chan?" Kamio almost bellowed in protest. "I am _not edgy. I'm just off my rhythm today."_

Ryoma stared at the three as they walked towards the courts. He then shrugged dismissively and walked past the vending machines. He then let out a sigh of relief as he saw Karupin curled up, sleeping. Ryoma then walked up to him and shook the other boy in attempt to wake him up.

"Mrryoma?" Karupin asked sleepily as he looked at Ryoma.

"Yes, Karupin, it's me. Ryoma said, nudging the boy awake. "Come on, wake up. Let's go back to where my senpais are."

"Hmm…" was Karupin's quiet reply. Ryoma shook his head as he slung Karupin's arm over his shoulder and supported the other boy as they started walking.

~*~

"Out! Game to Oishi-senpai. 4-3, change court." Momoshiro declared after Eiji returned the ball on the double border of the court.

"Ah, Momoshiro-kun!" a familiar female voice called out. The three players of Seigaku looked at the same direction where the voice came from and saw the three students of Fudomine.

"Yo, Tachibana's imouto!" Momoshiro greeted, causing Ann to puff her cheeks in indignation.

"I have a name, Momoshiro-kun, and you've called me that when we played in these courts before."

"Ehehe warui, warui." Momoshiro replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Kamio then clenched a fist and stomped over to where Momoshiro was standing. Ann blinked at Kamio's approach and then sighed as she saw the clenched fist of the redhead. _'Oh boy, here we go again...'_

"Teme! Why are you here? Don't you have any other places to go to? The Zengokou tournament is coming up, so why are you loafing around?!?" Kamio asked heatedly. "Oh and by the way, don't you even remember Ann-chan's name? It's so easy, for crying out loud! Ann! A-n-n! Ann!"

Momoshiro blinked as Ann let out a sigh. "Kamio-kun, try not to lose too much of your temper. We're here for a break, don't you remember? Not to have a heated argument with Momoshiro-kun."

"Demo Ann-chan…"

"Kamio Akira!"

Kamio cringed as Ann called him by his full name. Usually when people call him by his full name, he is in some sort of trouble. Also usually, in Ann's case, she like calling the boy's on Fudomine's team by their full name on occasion. This time doesn't happen to be one of them. Momoshiro, who was behind him, started snickering. This caused Kamio to have a vein in his temple just about ready to burst.

"Momoshiro," Oishi warned in a chiding tone. Momo then scratched the back of his head, inaudibly mumbling his apology to Kamio. A faint hiss then caught the two second year's attention.

"Yo mamushi!"

"Ne, baka mamushi, you're late." Momoshiro commented as he tapped his tennis racket on his shoulder. Kaidoh just presented him with an annoyed hiss and a glare before setting his stuff aside. 

The golden pair then continued their match by doing self-judging instead, considering Momoshiro is in another verbal war against Kamio. Kaidoh on the other hand just sat and waited. Voices were soon heard as Ryoma emerged, supporting the sleeping boy with him.

"Echizen, why didn't you just leave your friend at your house?" Oishi asked as they stopped their game for the moment. "He doesn't seem okay right now. Are you sure he had enough sleep before he came with you?"

Ryoma let Karupin lie down on the bench and used one of his unused shirts from his bag as a pillow for the boy. "He's always like this." Ryoma said as he thought of Karupin when he was still a cat and then shrugged. "I guess he just can't seem to have enough sleep." Ryoma then absently petted Karupin's hair before sitting beside the boy. The other students that were present were pretty busy doing their own thing to even notice Echizen looking at the sleeping boy. Kaidoh stole a glimpse at the two younger boys and then hissed quietly to himself as a light tinge colored his face.

The resting boy stirred as he felt someone patting his head. Looking up, he saw the stoic face of his owner sitting beside him. "Mrryoma?" 

"Are you fully awake this time?" Ryoma asked, not really looking at Karupin. A light 'hmm' was heard before Ryoma finally faced Karupin again. "How come you didn't listen to what I told you earlier?"

Karupin looked down guiltily as he toyed with the hat that Ryoma gave him earlier. Sure, he knew that Ryoma told him not to wander off, but can he help himself? He still thinks like a cat and he wanted to wander around and play. He heard Ryoma sigh, so he looked at him quietly.

"Just don't make me worried like that again, okay?" Ryoma said, ruffling Karupin's hair before he placed the hat back on his head. Ryoma then went back to watching his senpai play, though there was this little thought that was nagging him at the back of his head. This though was actually bugging him since this morning. How did Karupin turn into a human, and what will he do if Karupin suddenly changes back into a cat?

~tsuzuku~

Wah! =^_^= Karupin is so Kawaii!!!! Is it just me, or am I really making him like Jirou? Both boys are practically sleeping wherever they find it comfortable O_o;;;. Wah, I love him anyway! The last part… I just decided to add as an afterthought. What do you guys think? Well, I'll write more of this in the next chapters. *runs off to find her notebooks where chapter 4 is and her Golden Pair fic is being written*

Ritchie Waterfighter


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